SGN Editor Matt Loede’s NFL Picks for week 7

Jacksonville at Kansas City – Ugh. Could the Jags have looked any worse Monday night in their awful 30-3 loss to the Titans? Now word comes down that they may have to start Todd Bouman or Patrick Ramsey at QB for the club after David Garrard and Trent Edwards suffered injuries. I would go with the Chiefs even if one of those two normal QB’s were starting for the Jags. The Chiefs are upset about blowing a lead to the Texans last week, and will bounce back with a home win. Kansas City 27 Jacksonville 10

Philadelphia at Tennessee – The Titans also have injury issues at QB with both Vince Young and Kerry Collins getting banged up in JVille on Monday night. They take on an Eagles team that has won two in a row, and even without DeSean Jackson seem to have had enough to beat the 49ers and Falcons in the last two weeks. This smells like an under game, that likely will come down to a big play in the fourth quarter. Right now the Titans are the ones making those plays, and they will here. Tennessee 14 Philadelphia 13

Buffalo at Baltimore – Baltimore is not a happy bunch after being beat in OT by Tom Brady and the Pats last weekend. The Bills are awful, and while they have had two weeks to get ready, they don’t have the horses to compete with the Ravens, and by the time it’s over, the Bills will be licking their wounds. Baltimore 28 Buffalo 6

Cleveland at New Orleans – The Saints finally looked like champs last week in dispatching the Bucs on the road, and now they take on a Browns team that is as banged up as any in the NFL. They didn’t self destruct in Pittsburgh last week, but were still beat by 18 and it could have been worse. Colt McCoy is getting an early education in the NFL, and he’ll learn a lot watching Drew Brees light up the Browns weak secondary in this New Orleans win. New Orleans 24 Cleveland 10

Washington at Chicago – The gameplan to beat the Bears is to get to Jay Cutler past a weak Bears O-line, but the Redskins don’t have that much of a pass rush. They will come up with some ways to get to Cutler, and with Donovan McNabb and the Skins playing better before last weeks setback to the Colts, I think the Redskins win one here on the road in the Windy City. Washington 20 Chicago 18

Cincinnati at Atlanta – The Bengals are in a must win this week, as a 2-4 start in a tough AFC North and they can kiss a repeat good-bye. The Falcons are looking to rebound after a bad loss to the Eagles, and picking on a Bengals team that has had offensive issues all season is just the ticket. The Bengals are not a good road team, and the physical style of the Falcons will send Cincy to their fourth loss in six games. Atlanta 30 Cincinnati 17

Pittsburgh at Miami – Last week in Ben Roethlsiberger’s return, he threw for 3 TD’s, yet still only gave himself a “C” for a grade after the game. This week he and his troops will look to head to South Beach vs Miami, who has been blown out in their last two home games. The Dolphins won a gutsy game in Green Bay last week, but won’t be able to match a not too happy Steelers D that will play hard for their recently fined LB James Harrison. The Steelers are a contender in the AFC, and will show it here. Pittsburgh 27 Miami 14

San Francisco at Carolina – Matt Moore goes back under center for the Panthers, but does it matter? This team hasn’t scored all season, and about the only lift is they should get Steve Smith back from injury. The Niners finally won their first game last week vs the Raiders, but still are having issues of their own. This has the makings of the ugliest game of the week, and I will go with the upset here in Carolina. Carolina 18 San Francisco 16

St.Louis at Tampa Bay – Interesting game here, as the Rams stunned the Chargers a week ago, while the Bucs were beaten bad at home by the Saints. Now if the Rams can play with the same emotion like vs the Chargers, I think they will have enough offense to beat a Bucs team that is having injury issues as well. Sam Bradford has turned the Rams franchise around – in a hurry. St.Louis 23 Tampa Bay 21

Arizona at Seattle – Two 3-2 teams in the very average NFC West do battle in Seattle, as the Cards look to follow up their Saints win two weeks ago with a win over the Hawks. Seattle won a tough road game in Chicago last week, and have found some magic with playing mistake free football on offense and good special teams. The Cardinals will look to hit some plays downfield, and while they may get a few shots, the Hawks are a good home team and will win this one late. Seattle 17 Arizona 14
New England at San Diego – As usual, the Chargers have started the year slow, and I think here it will be a tough test to overcome a Pats team that everyone has written off since the Randy Moss trade. The Pats answered those questions last week with a 23-20 win over the Ravens in OT, and it seems like Tom Brady is even better with Deon Branch back in the fold. Phillip Rivers needs to attack the Pats secondary, but Brady will be just a bit better. New England 27 San Diego 20

Oakland at Denver – The Raiders should get a lift with Darren McFadden back, and that could help to keep Kyle Orton and the Broncos passing game off the field. The Raiders are 2-4, same as the Broncos, but Denver has more talent on the offensive side of the ball, and with the Raiders possibly having to go with Kyle Boller at QB, the Broncos will win a wild one. Denver 34 Oakland 23
Minnesota at Green Bay – What a great game, and one that should draw huge ratings from NFL fans and Brett Favre lovers and haters. The Pack is looking to finally get some revenge on Favre, as last year he beat them twice – badly. Aaron Rodgers wasn’t able to rally the troops enough last week, which is another reason to believe that the Pack will rise up enough to win this one. The Vikings at 2-3 need the game, but Rodgers and the Pack will use the crowd and their pass rush on Favre to escape with a win. Green Bay 21 Minnesota 18

Monday Night:

New York Giants at Dallas – Many say that it’s now or never for the Cowboys, and at 1-4 if they fall here, they might as well start working for a top five draft pick. They play a Giants team that is playing awfully well, as their defense has stepped up and the offense is doing enough to have built them to a 4-2 mark after six games. Eli Manning and the Giants are playing too good to allow a desperate Dallas team to overtake them. The Cowboys are a mess, and I don’t believe for a second that Jerry Jones won’t can Wade Phillips if the team keeps losing. New York Giants 29 Dallas 26